Court documents show the Salisbury man officials say tried to set off a destructive device in Washington County used to live at the apartment complex where the device was found.

Washington County deputies called the Maryland State Fire Marshal Bomb Squad to the Quaker Creek Apartments in Hancock around 12:30 a.m. Dec. 30 after locating what a news release identifies as a "destructive device."

As a result of the subsequent investigation, deputy state fire marshals charged 51-year-old Michael Joseph Thorn with possessing a destructive device and possessing explosives with intent to create a destructive device.

Michael Joseph Thorn, 51, of Salisbury(Photo: Office of the State Fire Marshal)

Court documents show he moved to Salisbury just days before his Jan. 4 arrest, when law enforcement executed a search warrant at his Hammond Street home. As of a Jan. 7 hearing, he is being held without bail and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Jan. 31.

The device was initially reported to law enforcement as "a large firework or some sort of IED," according to the charging documents.

At a little less than 4 inches long, documents state the red, white and blue cardboard tube had a Pall Mall cigarette lying close by that was believed to be a "time delay initiator" meant to light the fuse as it burned away. It's a technique investigators noted can give a suspect enough time to leave the area unnoticed.

However, documents show weather caused the cigarette to fail, allowing investigators to recover the device intact so that it could be sent for forensic and explosive analysis.

In the meantime, documents indicate witnesses directed them to Thorn, a former resident who had just moved out of the complex and had previously been seen with similar devices.

Multiple witnesses told investigators Thorn had tried to give them devices, according to documents, and one reported he was with Thorn when he ignited a device and threw it out of a car, causing a sound "louder than any firework" when it exploded.

Investigators also learned a witness overheard Thorn talking about a joke he had made with another resident about people being careful where they walked at the apartment complex.

The device located by law enforcement Dec. 30 was first discovered by a resident who documents show Thorn called the night before to ask if he had heard a boom.

After Thorn learned the device had never gone off, the resident told investigators Thorn asked him to retrieve it, but he declined, instead warning other residents to stay away from the area.

The charging documents describe the device as being "filled with energetic powder" and noted that if it had exploded it could have caused property damage or injury.

He is being held without bond as of a Jan. 7 bail review hearing, according to online case records, and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Jan. 31.